How do I stop my students cancelling at the last minute?

Question

I am a freelance language tutor and have a weekly timetable with various sets of students. Most students pay for sets of lessons in advance. Some pay after each lesson.

However, recently one set of students has started cancelling lessons at the last minute (within 2 hours usually) This has happened 4 times in the last 6 weeks. These students pay in advance. Should I enforce some sort of rule that I will take payment for the missed lesson if there is insufficient notice, or is this too aggressive? That seems like the most logical solution, but will it alienate the students?

I'm really sick of it now.

Answer 1

Doctors charge you if you don't give them 24-hour notice about cancelling an appointment.  I think you need to do the same.  They are not respecting your time.

Answer 2

General rule....less than 24 hrs notice....you do not refund their money.....unless there is an emergency....parent going to hospital, etc.   Not a last minute test....lame!    You might tick off a few of them, but they will learn to be reliable.

Answer 3

pay in advance for service like the cell phone and cable tv.

this way they cancel and you are compensated as a professional will reduce the cancellation rate quickly

Answer 4

You already see the trend, make them pay rather than you.  Your time is valuable, therefore, you should be getting paid for scheduled classes.  If they give you no notice once, that is one thing, but a pattern means other things so when they start paying for lessons they aren't getting, it will hit home.  CHARGE THEM!

Answer 5

The only way of stopping them doing this to you is to make it painful for them, if they have paid for lessons in advance and cancel with little to no notice make it clear that you are charging them for the scheduled lesson unless there are exceptional circumstances. Will this alienate them, probably but hopefully they will see the error of their ways, if not who needs students that don't turn up and pay anyway.

Answer 6

If they have so little respect for your time and ability that they feel it's ok to cancel on you like this, then yes - charge them.  If you cancel a hotel with little notice, you still pay for the room.  If you cancel piano lessons at the last minute, you still pay for the missed lesson.  It's the same with language tutoring.

It might alienate the irresponsible ones at first, but it's a fairly widespread practice.  And honestly, do you really want students that disrespect your time and abilities?

If it's something like a family member in the ER, or the person is throwing up, or something like that, it's understandable - offer to reschedule.  But if it's just plain rudeness on their part, to assume that your schedule is so free that they can just arbitrarily cancel on you, then yes.  You deserve to be paid for the time you had set aside for them.